The Riverside Police Department is seeking help from the public two days after the driver of a black SUV rammed through a group of demonstrators in downtown Riverside, running over a young woman who remains in critical but stable condition.
The department is asking for help in identifying and locating the suspect in the incident that occurred around 9:10 p.m. on University Avenue between Main and Orange streets, according to Officer Ryan J. Railsback, a spokesman for the department.
Railsback said a “speeding SUV drove around the march and struck a female pedestrian before fleeing the scene.”
Although police have not released the name of the victim, a woman who identified herself as a friend created a GoFundMe page and identified her as 21-year-old Alexa Carrasco.
“She was rushed to the hospital” and was in intensive care with “life-threatening injuries,” wrote the friend, Leslie Hernandez.
She told The Times on Monday that Carrasco remained in critical but stable condition in the ICU.
Carrasco’s friends also told KCAL that she suffered severe skull injuries as well as a cracked rib, punctured lung and broken leg.
“Alexa is loving, outgoing, and full of life,” Hernandez wrote. “She’s the kind of person who always shows up for others, and she was so proud to be out there using her voice. She did not deserve what happened to her.”
Railsback said paramedics “treated the victim at the scene. Then she was transported to a local hospital with significant injuries in stable condition.”
At the time of the collision, there were two protests in the area — one was part of the “No Kings” rallies taking place across the country. Another was a demonstration against raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“The groups merged early on,” Railsback said. “And we have no reason to believe the driver was part of this protest.”
Investigators are not only seeking the driver but also trying to determine if the incident was intentional or politically linked.
“We don’t know if it was accidental or not,” Railsback said, “but we are investigating it as an assault with a deadly weapon at this time.”
Video taken by demonstrators and posted on social media shows the black SUV stopped on University Avenue when a group of protesters begin to gather around the vehicle. One demonstrator can be seen bumping into the car’s left taillight while another uses an object to smash the light.
The car then drives forward, around demonstrators and speeding past Orange Street before dragging the young woman and running over her body.
“We are aware of the various social media videos that are being circulated and are using those to help us identify the driver,” Railsback said.
The public is asked to contact detectives at (951) 353-7103. Anonymous tips can be made through Crime Stoppers.
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